held.
“Come about, new targets gamma, ta, and epsilon will be delta group,” I ordered. If they could shoot back then they needed to go, and fast.
“On it!” called out Dusty. “Delta group lock. Flame, come about on attack vector.”
The powerful engines of the Dust Dragon banked us hard as Flame over-judged the power the turn needed. She quickly corrected, causing the entire ship to groan under the inertial stress of the maneuver, but managed to get us safely and quickly on the correct attack vector.
Spectra was working hard to reestablish the jamming field as Phoenix diverted power and cycled the phasing on the shields in preparation for another hit. It was not long before Dusty had eliminated delta group, and we were moving on to the last three.
“Spectra, as before let them get a call out, and rebroadcast my message from the last fight. Dusty, do not wait on the message; eliminate them. I am sure they will get enough out to be effective before we can finish them off.”
“On it!” called out Dusty as he locked and eliminated the last of the enemy targets.
“Flame, get us out of here. Best speed to the next jump point,” I said. “Congratulations, everyone, that was very well done! They underestimated our abilities because we did not yet show them all we could do, but next time we meet them they will likely bring much more power to play. For now, I want everyone to take a short rest cycle.”
With only a few hours to the jump point, the period of rest would have to be brief, but everyone needed it. They did well in that fight, but it was not as polished as it could be. They were starting to feel the impact of the stress and emotional rollercoaster that real combat puts you through. Eventually they would learn to stay more equable in a fight, and because of that recover faster and make fewer mistakes, but that takes time.
Chapter Thirteen
“Flame, do not jump just yet. Spectra, please report our battles to the Aleeryon Navy and see if there are any updated reports.” Spectra turned without a word and sent the message.
“Shadow, they want to talk with you,” she said after a minute.
“I expected that; put them on the main screen, please,” I said. Once the connection was made I said, “This is Battle Wizard First Rank Shadow Weaver of Alpha Academy. How may I help you?”
Much to my surprise, Flame’s brother Bill appeared on the screen. “This is Rear Admiral Bill MacGregor of the Aleeryon Defense Force.” There was a pause, and then he continued with a slight grin, “It’s good to see you again, Shadow.”
“Greetings, Bill. Apparently congratulations are in order, Admiral,” I said.
“Yeah, we can talk more about that when you arrive. I have received reports of your first stops on your way here and wanted to warn you in person. We are getting reports of battleships converging on your next jump exit.”
“I expected as much,” I said.
“Based on the reports, I take it you are alone, so I have to ask: do you think you can handle multiple battleships?” he asked.
“Our ship versus theirs? Absolutely not. My assumption is that my message got out, and they are going to try to squash us as a response.”
“That would be my guess, as well, so what is your plan?” he asked.
“Oh, I plan to cheat, do not worry. The big question I have outstanding is the jump exit after that: is it within your reach?”
“Yes, I can have a wing waiting for you if you like,”
“Please do. Depending on how things go we might not be up for another fight for a bit.”
“Shadow, do not take any foolish risks. You can jump around this by hopping over to the Scaladian route and crossing back over to Aleeryon.”
“Bill, I appreciate your concern, but I have a crew to train and a message to send. I will look for you at the jump exit. Until then, Alpha Academy out,” I said and then gestured to Spectra to cut the channel. “Okay, crew, if we were mundanes the next jump would be hopeless. But
“Come about, new targets gamma, ta, and epsilon will be delta group,” I ordered. If they could shoot back then they needed to go, and fast.
“On it!” called out Dusty. “Delta group lock. Flame, come about on attack vector.”
The powerful engines of the Dust Dragon banked us hard as Flame over-judged the power the turn needed. She quickly corrected, causing the entire ship to groan under the inertial stress of the maneuver, but managed to get us safely and quickly on the correct attack vector.
Spectra was working hard to reestablish the jamming field as Phoenix diverted power and cycled the phasing on the shields in preparation for another hit. It was not long before Dusty had eliminated delta group, and we were moving on to the last three.
“Spectra, as before let them get a call out, and rebroadcast my message from the last fight. Dusty, do not wait on the message; eliminate them. I am sure they will get enough out to be effective before we can finish them off.”
“On it!” called out Dusty as he locked and eliminated the last of the enemy targets.
“Flame, get us out of here. Best speed to the next jump point,” I said. “Congratulations, everyone, that was very well done! They underestimated our abilities because we did not yet show them all we could do, but next time we meet them they will likely bring much more power to play. For now, I want everyone to take a short rest cycle.”
With only a few hours to the jump point, the period of rest would have to be brief, but everyone needed it. They did well in that fight, but it was not as polished as it could be. They were starting to feel the impact of the stress and emotional rollercoaster that real combat puts you through. Eventually they would learn to stay more equable in a fight, and because of that recover faster and make fewer mistakes, but that takes time.
Chapter Thirteen
“Flame, do not jump just yet. Spectra, please report our battles to the Aleeryon Navy and see if there are any updated reports.” Spectra turned without a word and sent the message.
“Shadow, they want to talk with you,” she said after a minute.
“I expected that; put them on the main screen, please,” I said. Once the connection was made I said, “This is Battle Wizard First Rank Shadow Weaver of Alpha Academy. How may I help you?”
Much to my surprise, Flame’s brother Bill appeared on the screen. “This is Rear Admiral Bill MacGregor of the Aleeryon Defense Force.” There was a pause, and then he continued with a slight grin, “It’s good to see you again, Shadow.”
“Greetings, Bill. Apparently congratulations are in order, Admiral,” I said.
“Yeah, we can talk more about that when you arrive. I have received reports of your first stops on your way here and wanted to warn you in person. We are getting reports of battleships converging on your next jump exit.”
“I expected as much,” I said.
“Based on the reports, I take it you are alone, so I have to ask: do you think you can handle multiple battleships?” he asked.
“Our ship versus theirs? Absolutely not. My assumption is that my message got out, and they are going to try to squash us as a response.”
“That would be my guess, as well, so what is your plan?” he asked.
“Oh, I plan to cheat, do not worry. The big question I have outstanding is the jump exit after that: is it within your reach?”
“Yes, I can have a wing waiting for you if you like,”
“Please do. Depending on how things go we might not be up for another fight for a bit.”
“Shadow, do not take any foolish risks. You can jump around this by hopping over to the Scaladian route and crossing back over to Aleeryon.”
“Bill, I appreciate your concern, but I have a crew to train and a message to send. I will look for you at the jump exit. Until then, Alpha Academy out,” I said and then gestured to Spectra to cut the channel. “Okay, crew, if we were mundanes the next jump would be hopeless. But
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